The television actor says it was much before Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn made khaki popular with their cop roles in Dabangg and Singham, respectively, that she glamourised and popularised the uniform on the small screen

“For seven years, Chandramukhi Chautala made the audience laugh with her fearless nature and perfect comic timing. My character in the show made the audience realise that the police station is not a boring place,” said Kavita Kaushik. “It was way before films like Dabanng and Singham came. I was the one who made khaki uniform glamorous and sexy before Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn did,” she added.

After entertaining the viewers as aggressive and bossy Chandramukhi Chautala in F.I.R for years, she took a break from the show three months ago, but now she is making a comeback. The 32-year-old, who started her stint on F.I.R. in 2006, is excited to be back on SAB TV’s comedy drama.

After she quit F.I.R., the show took a 20-year leap and Chak De! India fame actor Chitrashi Rawat joined the cast as Chandramukhi’s daughter Jwalamukhi, also a police officer. “I am very excited to be back on the show, it’s like coming back to my family. Apart from her perfect comic timing and bindaas attitude, Chandramukhi will be seen doing more stunts, action sequences and donning more get-ups,” said Kavita.

“The show will complete 1,000 episodes very soon and I have slipped into more than 800 get-ups so far for my character. I guess this is the highest anyone has ever done on the small screen,” she added.

At the beginning of this year, Kavita took up another comedy show Tota Weds Maina. If her character in F.I.R. has been loud, Tota Weds Maina saw her playing a shy and demure girl. The actor said Maina is just the opposite of Chandramukhi, adding: “Chandramukhi is very naughty, she is an extension of Kavita. I am very naughty and sarcastic. Sarcasm is a part of me. I am very funny and I am not scared of things, so Chandramukhi was something like me,” she said.

The actor was also part of dance reality show Nach Baliye 3, in which she had participated with her ex-boyfriend Karan Grover. When asked whether she would like to participate in any reality show, Kavita said: “No, reality shows are money-making business. The participants are paid and the judges are paid. It’s all about making money, nothing else. I participated in Nach Baliye 3 because they were offering good money.”

What else do you have in your kitty? “I am doing a film called Democracy Pvt. Ltd. It is a political satire,” said the actor who has been part of shows like Kutumb, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii and Kumkum.

After quitting the show for Tota Wed Maina, the actor is excited to be back in her popular role as a cop on the show

Kavita Kaushik is coming back to work her magic as Inspector Chandramukhi Chautala in popular show F.I.R., and she is mighty excited to experiment with interesting stunts and action scenes. The actor, known for her bindaas style and excellent comic timing as the Haryanvi police officer, had left the show earlier this year after being a key part of it for seven years.

Speaking of her comeback, Kavita said, “I feel like I’ve come back to my friends. In fact, everyone around me is so excited and kicked. My entry into the show has also been planned really well, with action sequences and stunts.”

Kavita is “certain that the viewers are going to thoroughly enjoy watching the show as I continue to entertain them in a dhamakedaar andaaz (dramatic way)”.

During her time away from F.I.R., she was seen in Tota Weds Maina, another comic show.

Kavita was replaced by Chitrashi Rawat of Chak De! India fame. The show took a 20-year leap and Chitrashi played Jwalamukhi Chautala, daughter of Chandramukhi Chautala.

Lovers Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D’Souza come back together on screen after seven long years

Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya is a romantic comedy directed by newcomer Mandeep Kumar. The film also stars Om Puri, Chitrashi Rawat, Smita Jaykar and Tinnu Anand in pivotal roles. Abhishek Bachchan will be seen doing a cameo while Veena Malik is set to perform an item number in the film. Riteish and Genelia who’re rumoured to be dating each other for sometime will show their off screen chemistry on screen. The duo also was thrilled to be working together. Riteish had tweeted, “Working with my first and most favourite co-star Genelia after seven long years. Excited!” While Genelia echoed the excited sentiment in her tweet, “My new film starts 2day, workin @Riteishd after 7yrs.lllongggg time but excited 4sure!” The couple definitely look in love, let’s hope they bring something of it on screen as well!

She was one of the few women who stood up to Shahrukh Khan in the acting department in her memorable performance in Chak De! India. And possibly one of a rare breed who can afford to say, “Kabhi kabhi jyaada achhi acting kar lo toh bhi gadbad ho jaati hai”!

We talk to Shilpa Shukla about her latest film, Bhindi Baazaar Inc, her passion for photography and working with the King Khan…

Why did you accept your role in Bhindi Baazaar Inc?

The film has a huge ensemble cast, with the rarest of faces. My character is called Kanjri and is a part of a gang of pickpockets. One of the gang members, Fateh (played by Prashant Narayanan) is her childhood sweetheart, but he loves someone else. So, it’s a love triangle. I am always offered intense roles. But it was the confidence of the debutant director (Ankush Bhatt) and seeing how difficult it was to put the moneys together that caught my interest.

What was the experience like?

Shooting in Bhindi Bazaar in Mumbai was difficult – climbing up and down from the 17th floor of a building being constructed and dealing with the crowd. But we had to maintain our calm amidst the chaos. There was a jail in the vicinity. People would get aggressive. Once there was a bhai who walked into the shoot and wanted to see what was happening!

But why hasn’t an actor of your calibre got the kind of meaty roles she deserves?

I don’t know. After Chak De! India, I had signed four big films. One of them was with Vishal Bhardwaj, and another with UTV Spotboy called Season’s Greetings – a comedy that I really enjoyed doing. But then the recession happened, and some of these films didn’t take off. My job was to deliver a good performance. But I feel kabhi kabhi jyaada achhi acting kar lo toh bhi gadbad ho jaati hai (sometimes when you give your best, it doesn’t work out). I feel the intensity backfired.

What’s in store for the future?

This year has been good; I have worked with three debutant directors. I am soon going to shoot for a film called BA Pass, based on one of the short stories in the book Delhi Noir. It’s a love story between a 29-year-old married woman and a 19-year-old boy, to be played by promising newcomer Shadab Kamal. It’s directed by Ajay Behl. Then there is another film with Prashant Narayanan called Doors, directed by Abhijit Gogne. It was shot on 5D and we have experimented with it, so let’s see…. Also, there is a film called The Coffin Maker with Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Randeep Hooda and Benjamin Gilani.

There have been other films with an older woman-younger man love story, which have not worked…

But there is no premise to BA Pass. It is not like Ek Chhotisi Love Story, etc. It is based on a story called Railway Aunty from the book. It is a beautiful, femme fatale character. She’s kind of a mystery woman. It is the role of my lifetime and when we did a look test, I thought that I looked the best ever! I will be wearing seven different wigs in the film. It will really make me come out of my comfort zone.

You stood up to Shahrukh Khan in Chak De! India. Did he praise your performance?

Yes, he said I was a very realistic and intense actor. But, as he said, I needed to ease out a bit. I think both of us come from very different schools of acting. But I met him during Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa again and we talked a lot. He has been a major driving force for me.

You also have a great eye for photography and you are always with a camera. How did the passion develop?

When we were shooting for Season’s Greetings in Cape Town, there was a lot of free time. And I’m really not the gossiping, partying type. So I looked around and captured some great shots. I had fantastic drivers who took me to the ghettos. On an average, I clicked 200 pictures per day with my Canon camera.

Is there anything as good as Rajuben coming your way on TV?

Every second day there is a big promise of a story. I was offered Bigg Boss twice, but I refused. At one point, I was shooting Rajuben and Jhalak for 21 hours at a stretch. But I cannot do regular TV. It is good for the money – as money is always an issue – but you got to hold your guns and believe in yourself.

Any plans to direct a film some day?

Y’know, a lot of people say that (I should direct). But it’s a man’s world out here. Being an actor is only five percent of the whole thing. But I can spread my wings some time later. Post 35, maybe I’ll take a break and study and come back.

It’s a man’s world, all right. So, are male leads scared to work with you due to your strong performance and screen presence?

No. I don’t think that is the case. Roles or films like Leader or Monster are not written here.

On modern day marriage and a supportive husband…

Mohit (Tripathi) and I have been friends for 14 years. He is also an actor and a stage director. In fact, he was the chief assistant director on The Coffin Maker. Hopefully, we shall work together on a film.

We are from Bihar and we have some definite lineage and connection to it. My brother was influenced by Buddhism in school, long before it became a fad internationally. He is a monk and, being very bright, he went to Harvard. He lectures on Buddhist philosophy and is the first Buddhist Chaplain at MIT. He has a centre for Buddhist studies, with regulars such as Richard Gere and Robert Thurman (Uma Thurman’s father). We have a Prajnopaya camp every year in Bihar villages for tuberculosis treatment and prevention, in which I am involved.

Does your brother keep track of your work?

Oh yes, he does. He shares my film DVDs. Uma Thurman wanted to see Chak De, Khamosh Pani and Rajuben. My DVDs are on the way!